• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

With a long hot summer ahead, Ellen Fremedon decides that she is going to write a book -- a long one, with chapters. She doesn't need to look far to find characters. The tiny village of Partridge Cove is full of interesting personalities. The budding novelist has characters galore, but what about a plot?

With the help of her best friend, Jenny, Ellen soon realizes that there's plenty of mystery and intrigue in Partridge Cove as well. Why have the loathsome new neighbors bought the big house next door? And who will benefit from the housing development that's to be built right on top of the town's aquifer? Then, just as Ellen's story gets going, her novel must take a back seat to real life, when her twin brothers disappear, and things suddenly become very complicated, and very personal.

Joan Givner was born in Manchester, England, in 1936. After studying at London University and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, she began teaching at the Unviersity of Regina in 1965; later she edited the Wascana Review. She has published biographies of Katherine Anne Porter (1982) and Mazo de la Roche (1989) and two collections of stories, most recently Scenes from Provincial Life (1991). "Elizabeth," a prize winner in the 1991 CBC Canadian Literary Awards, was published in a Joan Givner Special Issue of Room of One's Own in 1992.

Joan Givner's profile page

• Winner, Hackmatack Award
• Long-listed, OLA Silver Birch Award
• Commended, CCBC Our Choice (Starred Selection)

Givner's first novel for children is a delightfully surprising blend of old and new...the artful, funny perceptions about writing, arguing and relationships are as clever as they come in a post-modern era.

Toronto Star

...Ellen's first-person narrative will resonate with many readers, particularly those with an interest in writing.

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